Erich Bey

Erich Bey (23 March 1898-26 December 1943) was a Konteradmiral of the Kriegsmarine of Nazi Germany during World War II. Bey was the commander of DKM Scharnhorst until he sunk with it in the Battle of North Cape on 26 December 1943.

Biography
Erich Bey was born on 23 March 1898 in Hamburg in the German Empire, and joined the Kaiserliche Marine in 1916 during World War I at the age of 18. Bey stayed in the weakened Reichsmarine of the Weimar Republic after the war ended in 1918, and he joined the Nazi Party. For this, he was made a Commander in the Kriegsmarine of Nazi Germany and fought in World War II in the invasion of Norway. Bey commanded the German fleet at the Second Battle of Narvik, after the previous commander Friedrich Bonte was killed in action by the British Royal Navy. On 25 December 1943, his ship DKM Scharnhorst attempted to intercept an Allied convoy en route to Murmansk in the Soviet Union, but Bey was killed by HMS Prince of Wales. He was last seen in the water after his ship sunk, but he was not rescued and he drowned.